Stories Before Sept 2016

FTVLive first told you the sad news yesterday that former KOLD Anchor Randy Garsee had passed away.

Now, the Arizona Daily Star writes that, Garsee who co-anchored KOLD's nightly news program for nearly a decade, died over the weekend at his home in Virginia.

His death at age 50 came as a surprise to all who knew him, said Kris Pickel, who teamed with Garsee on the anchor desk.

"I'm in shock, as a lot of his friends are. We can't believe this happened," said Pickel, now a news co-anchor at a Cleveland television station. "He was an eloquent man and prolific writer. Just a hell of a guy. I was lucky to be paired up with him," Pickel said.

Though Garsee and his wife of 18 years, Amy Blankenship-Garsee, finalized their divorce two months ago, the former anchor was planning to visit Tucson next week to spend spring break with their daughters, Isabelle, 17, and Analiese, 12.

Garsee, who died in his sleep, had high blood pressure, said Blankenship-Garsee, who suspects the condition may have contributed to his death.

"He loved his girls more than anything. He liked to say they were made to order," Blankenship-Garsee said.

Pickel had kept in touch with Garsee by phone and through social media, but hadn't seen him in seven years. She and her husband planned to visit Garsee in a few weeks.

"Randy was fun. He was unique. We were polar opposites ... so we complemented each other. He had such a different outlook on everything. He loved to fire people up. He earned the respect of a lot of people for doing it," she said.